U.S. citizen petition poses new threat to wheat production
Grain farmers, while sympathizing with their livestock colleagues, have probably felt fairly safe over the last few years as they watched a concerted effort develop to reduce and even ban the consumption of meat and other animal agriculture products.
Sure, movements pop up from time to time calling gluten a poison, but it’s fair to say grain farmers haven’t faced the same activist backlash experienced by livestock producers.
But it seems that is all about to change.
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The first shot across the bow of cereal production came with the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as U.S. health secretary.
Kennedy has been a vocal opponent of ultra-processed food, which in his mind includes wheat flour.
The second shot wasn’t long in coming when U.S. president Donald Trump’s administration released its latest dietary guidelines, reducing recommended servings of whole grains to two to four servings a day compared to six to 11 servings in the original food pyramid introduced in 1992.
This was troubling enough, but now the third shot has been fired, and while it is a far cry from a sure hit, the implications would be catastrophic for the grain sector if it were to materialize.
We’re talking about a recent citizen petition asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to revoke the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) approval for processed refined carbohydrates, including refined flour.
Before this story broke, it is probably fair to say that most Canadians had never heard of the FDA’s citizen petition system.
It is intended to allow ordinary citizens or non-profit organizations to petition the FDA regarding safety issues related to drugs, devices or other items (generally food, tobacco, cosmetics or FDA regulations).
Historically, one-fifth of these petitions have been successful.
There have been concerns about abuse of the system, primarily by the pharmaceutical industry to delay introduction of generic medications.
According to an article in the Columbia Law Review, although intended to serve the public interest by bringing safety concerns to the agency’s attention, nearly all petitions today that target generic drugs are denied.
Despite the low success rate, petitions are still able to delay generic entry and hamstring the FDA.
However, there have also been success stories.
For example, the citizen petition is the same process that was used to eliminate trans fats from the U.S. food supply.
However, while trans fats and wheat flour are vastly different animals, the American milling industry is extremely worried about the new petition.
That’s because of the significant change in direction in the U.S. government since Trump was elected.
The rhetoric aimed at refined flour and seed oils has been given new credence since Kennedy’s installation at the top of the U.S. health department.
The drastic change in whole grain consumption recommendations in the new dietary guidelines was just one indication that the rule book is being rewritten when it comes to food.
As a result, instead of laughing off the citizen petition targeting refined flour, as it would have once done, the American milling industry is now taking it very seriously.
It’s not as certain anymore what the FDA might do with its review.
Recent literature is mainly in agreement that whole grains are better than refined flour, in which the germ and bran have been removed.
While refined flour can be enriched and fortified to return nutrients lost during processing, many nutritionists recommend eating more whole grains.
However, removing refined flour from the commercial food system, which the citizen petition would accomplish if accepted by the FDA, would be akin to throwing out the baby with the bath water.
Sure, it’s probably a good idea to eat more whole-grain bread, oatmeal and brown rice and less white bread, pastries, cakes and crackers, but completely banning refined flour is not the answer.
While this is mainly an American story, there is also a Canadian angle, not only because of how much wheat we sell to the U.S. but also because what happens south of the border can also have ramifications up here.
While there’s not much for Canadians to do, other than to watch the FDA review with alarm, it’s also a timely lesson that we must never let down our guard — even wheat farmers.
Karen Briere, Bruce Dyck, Robin Booker, Paul Yanko and Laura Rance collaborate in the writing of Western Producer editorials.
Source: producer.com